Aim: To install greenest and cheapest heating system

QrizB

mumf said:

QrizB said:

mumf said:

One way or another , we HAVE to burn something to keep warm ,so there is no perfect situation.

This statement is plainly not true.

I have a tankfull of hot water here, right now, and I didn't burn anything to make it. It was all done by the power of the sun.

The same power of the sun, earlier today, is currently illuminating my household lights and running my son's Xbox.

BUT, how are you keeping WARM?

Hot water bottle

Ectophile

QrizB said:

mumf said:

One way or another , we HAVE to burn something to keep warm ,so there is no perfect situation.

This statement is plainly not true.

I have a tankfull of hot water here, right now, and I didn't burn anything to make it. It was all done by the power of the sun.

The same power of the sun, earlier today, is currently illuminating my household lights and running my son's Xbox.

That's just burning hydrogen in a big nuclear fusion reactor, about 93 million miles away.

Reed_Richards

Ectophile said:

That's just burning hydrogen in a big nuclear fusion reactor, about 93 million miles away.

Save energy, turn off the sun!

Catbells

I'm thinking now that I could heat water for showers etc and light my house using solar power.  For central heating I will have to buy a condensing boiler.  

Ectophile

Catbells said:

I'm thinking now that I could heat water for showers etc and light my house using solar power.  For central heating I will have to buy a condensing boiler.  

Make sure you have a backup option.

So far this winter, we have periods when there's been no sun for days on end.  With the sun low in the sky, the generation from solar panels on a cloudy day can be pitiful.

Reed_Richards

Catbells said:

I'm thinking now that I could heat water for showers etc and light my house using solar power.  For central heating I will have to buy a condensing boiler.  

In summer you could certainly heat your water using solar power most of the time.  In winter most of the time you could not.  You don't need lighting when the sun is shining so for lighting you would need a battery.  A tank of water is essentially a heat battery so you can charge it when the sun is shining and continue to use the heat after dark. 

mrmmhf

Catbells said:

I'm having some building work done on my 3 bed house later this year.  I can use this opportunity to replace my Potterton gas CH boiler which is over 15 years old - even though it works it probably isn't energy efficient.  I haven't been able to find the Gov grant of £5000 for air source heat pumps which was mentioned last October so have abandoned that idea.   Is a condensing gas boiler the only way forward for me?   I was hoping to become a bit greener but not looking like that's an option.   Thanks.

Octopus Energy are going to start installing heat pumps for £5,000 this April. May be worth checking that out as an option.

Here’s an interview about their plans: https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/air-source-heat-pumps-for-5000

markin

mrmmhf said:

Catbells said:

I'm having some building work done on my 3 bed house later this year.  I can use this opportunity to replace my Potterton gas CH boiler which is over 15 years old - even though it works it probably isn't energy efficient.  I haven't been able to find the Gov grant of £5000 for air source heat pumps which was mentioned last October so have abandoned that idea.   Is a condensing gas boiler the only way forward for me?   I was hoping to become a bit greener but not looking like that's an option.   Thanks.

Octopus Energy are going to start installing heat pumps for £5,000 this April. May be worth checking that out as an option.

Here’s an interview about their plans: https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/air-source-heat-pumps-for-5000

Whats the catch? how are they so cheap, are they self manufacturing them? Is it Non profit? It seems the 5K is after grants! But can people afford to run them now?

EDIT: OK some was covered in the first 15min, they simply think 400 installers to start with, and that mass installs will = Efficiency of installs and bring it down. It also seems like the £5K is more like an eventual target not a fixed price install.

mrmmhf

I think that installers have been making a lot of money from heat pumps too, so by streamlining margins they may be able to significantly drop prices.